Second Chances: All I Want For Christmas Is YouCh1
by jtbwriter
Summary: An old flame wants to re-kindle her romance with A.J.,and when he refuses, her campaign of harassment brings danger to all the Simons. Inspired by “Who Killed The Sixties”, dedicated to the actress who brought the character of “Anita” to life,Darlene Carr
1. Default Chapter

Second Chances: All I Want For Christmas Is You

An old flame wants to re-kindle her romance with A.J., and when he refuses, her campaign of harassment brings danger to all the Simons. Inspired by "Who Killed The Sixties", and dedicated to the actress who brought the character of "Anita" to life, Darleen Carr.

(This is a fictional story, and no money is being made from it. The characters from Simon & Simon and Six Million Dollar Man are owned by Universal Studios and are only being borrowed for a little while, I promise to put them back when I'm done.)

Chapter 1

"Happy Anniversary to yooooooou!" the waiters sang out, then the dining room burst into applause.

Rick Simon beamed at the maitre'd and his staff. "Thank you, very much!" He turned to his wife, who was looking at him with so much happiness it brought tears to his eyes.

As the oohs and ahs sounded around them, Laurie put her arms around him, then whispered, "thank you for such a beautiful surprise, darling."

"You're welcome, princess." He kissed her, then cut a piece of the lemon tart he had ordered and fed it to her. "Mmmmm", Laurie savored the bite, then caught sight of her brother and sister-in-law grinning.

"You two are so bad, shopping for Mom's Christmas gift indeed!" she chuckled, then gave Rick a bite of the treat. He raised his eyebrow then archly asked, "wanna share." She giggled then gave him a lemon flavored peck.

"That is good, sis." Linda said, then teased A.J. by taking a mouthful then giving him a kiss.

"Now that's the way I like dessert." A.J. laughed, then Rick needled him, "Better then on your shirt, huh?"

"Well, dessert or no dessert, I think this is one of the nicest anniversary gifts I've ever had." Laurie told them when the joking died down. "This is such a special place, I'm just glad you two came!"

"Wouldn't have missed it, Sis." A.J. kissed her cheek, pleased how this belated celebration turned out.

Rick surveyed his wife's empty plate, then picked up her hand and kissed it. "I'm just happy we still surprised you. I didn't plan on being sick for our anniversary!"

"This was so much better, love. This way you got over your cold and Ricky his mumps, and we were well for Thanksgiving." Laurie smiled at him, then caught him sneaking a look at his watch.

"Rick, what are you, oh!" she squealed, seeing a couple of familiar faces enter the dining room.

"Robbie? Robin, oh Rick, you darling!" she hugged him tightly, then held up her arms and embraced her son and daughter, bringing moist eyes to the others by her joy in the moment.

"Happy Anniversary, Mom, Pop!" Brother and sister took turns hugging their parents and Aunt and Uncle.

"Where are the children?" Laurie asked, once everyone was seated and fresh coffee and tea were brought, "compliments of the hotel."

"Abby and Temple and Ramona are having a sleepover, Ian had to work but he's going to pick us all up with your Jeep, Mom." Robin explained, then took a taste of her dessert and froze.

"Mom, this is incredible, it's better then mine!"

"Honey, I don't think so." Rick smirked, then when his daughter gazed at him questioningly, added, "It's the one you sent here last month, they simply froze it then thawed it for us!"

Laughing, Robbie broke them all up when he paused in mid-bite, then told his sister, "Squirt, only your cooking would improve by being frozen!"

Only the closing of the kitchen let the party of Simons know it was late, and after giving a smile-inducing tip to the Maitre'd, Rick led the way to the elevators.

"Rick, you didn't, we're staying here?" Laurie gasped, then saw his wide grin.

"Courtesy of your father and Rudy, darlin'. There's a card in our room, but they wanted us to have a special time, especially since we had to cancel going to Maine to see your cousins."

"That was nice of them, Pop" Robbie responded, as his sister giggled. "This ought to be good, I take it Rob and I are sharing a room?"

"Yep, and I better not hearing any pillow fights, your mom and I are next door. Remember, Santa's taking notes as to who's naughty and who's nice." Rick teased, then said good night to A.J. and Linda, who were in the other turret room.

As they got ready for bed, Laurie couldn't help but knock lightly on the connecting door of their children's room. Rick got choked up when he saw Robbie and Robin had waited up to be "tucked in" by their mother and father.

"Rick, that was the sweetest, most loving thing. All because of you." Laurie closed the door, then came and lay down in her husband's arms.

"My Laurie." Rick pulled her to him. "That's because you are the sweetest, most loving woman in the world."

"Only because of you, darling." She told him, then kissed him deeply, dipping her mouth into his.

Sharing their love until they were drowsy with sleep, Rick gave one last kiss then whispered, "Happy Anniversary, sweetheart. I love you "

"Happy Anniversary, Rick. I love you more.", she replied, snuggling into his embrace.

In the morning, Rick was awakened by the sound of a door closing, then the smell of bacon and eggs.

Quietly slipping out of bed, he found two conspirators setting up a table for six in the suite's living room.

"What are my favorite son and daughter doing?" he whispered, causing Robbie to jump.

"Pop, you startled me, I thought you were still asleep."

"I was, but the smell of breakfast is better then a alarm clock." Rick chuckled, hugging his children.

"Whose idea was this?"

"Mom, she wanted to give you a treat before we went to Old Town, I bet she's just pretending to be asleep, Pop." Robin answered, giggling.

Leaving them to wake up their aunt and uncle, Rick stole back to bed, then seeing one hazel eye blink, tickled his wife with a kiss. "Wake up, sleeping beauty."

Smiling, Laurie opened her eyes, then laughed as Rick enticed her into breakfast.

"Oh, it looks wonderful, thank you, darlings." Laurie joyfully greeted their family, then sat down to help polish off a huge breakfast.

After eating until they were stuffed, the Simons divided up to finish Christmas shopping, then met again at the Del for lunch before checking out. As they entered the lobby ahead of Laurie and Linda on the way to meet their children at the restaurant, Rick and A.J. heard a woman's voice calling, "A.J., A.J.!"

As A.J. turned, he caught sight of a familiar face, who rushed to him and flung her arms around him.

"Anita?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Anita, hi, where did you come from?" A.J. had a shocked look on his face, then Rick decided to rescue him, then rag him later.

"From the fountain of youth, obviously, you look great, hon." Rick took her none-to-gracefully from his brother and gave her a brief squeeze, not missing the decidedly polite smile the frosty redhead flashed.

"So do you, Rick, marriage must become you, you look very settled." Rick grinned. Touche.

"Well, thank you, I think my little brother and my wife might agree with you. Speaking of which, here come our ladies." Rick gave a nudge to A.J., who looked over at the elevators, then beamed at the sight of Linda in a red velvet sheath. Laurie was right behind her in a Chinese style jade cocktail dress, part of Rick's anniversary gift, and he had the satisfaction of seeing his brother's former girl friend turn red as A.J. put an arm around both women.

"You two put everyone else to shame, Linny, you look …incredible." He said, then remembered Anita standing in front of them.

"Honey, this is Anita Cooper, Anita, this is my wife, Linda. Anita and I were friends in high school."

Now Anita was practically gritting her teeth, "friends, oh come on, A.J., we were more than friends. I could tell your wife some stories, but…."

"I'm sure you could, Anita, you always had an interesting tale up your sleeve." Laurie interrupted her, giving her a glacial smile. Rick was suddenly on edge, Laurie had never liked Anita, had even told their Mom she was no good for her "little brother".

At once he saw Anita frown, "how do I know you, wait a minute…." A.J. glanced at his brother then interjected, "You remember Laurie, don't you? Laurie was Laurie Scott, she lived around the corner from us."

"Laurie Scott, you're some big time author now, aren't you?" Now a look of jealousy crossed the woman's face, and immediately Linda rose to the occasion.

"Yes she is, Anita. A very important person, too. She not only makes Rick happy, she's responsible for my meeting this handsome guy, speaking of handsome…" Linda put her arms around A.J. and he instantly responded with a kiss.

Laurie raised her eyebrows, then turned back to their former classmate. "Well, it was interesting seeing you again, Anita, maybe we'll run into you in another twenty years."

Rick wanted to laugh at the blatant dismissal but controlled himself as A.J. released his wife long enough to blurt, "nice seeing you, again." Taking Linda's arm, he led her toward the restaurant as Rick nodded "likewise". Laurie's hand in his, the two Simons left the woman standing alone in the lobby.

"Darlin'." Rick began, feeling her fingers close around his as they approached the restaurant.

"Yes, love."

He brought her hand to his lips. "Remind me never to get you jealous, you don't fight fair."

"I don't fight fair when someone I love might get hurt." She sighed. He slipped his arm around her as she leaned against him.

"My wild Valkrie, never change." Rick murmured, then stopping in the doorway of the dining room, dropped a kiss on her lips, bringing a blush to her cheeks as he escorted her to their table.

The next week was a busy one for the Simons, as Rick and A.J. hurried to finish any outstanding cases before the start of their Christmas vacation.

Not so busy, however, for Rick to notice dark circles under his little brother's eyes when he came into the office on Wednesday.

"Late night with Robin, A.J.?" he asked, thinking his nephew was getting a little old for keeping his parents up.

"I wish." A.J. yawned, then shook his head. "I'm only glad Linda slept in this morning, I'd be afraid for her to be driving on the amount of sleep we got."

At Rick's inquiring look, A.J. sighed. "Anita Cooper's been calling. Apparently she's in town near the airport. At first I was concerned, she called 3 times Monday night, saying she thought someone was following her. I even called the police for her, but there was no one. Last night, I think she was, well, she'd been drinking, so she called at 12., then 1. I turned the machine on, but then we couldn't sleep for fear we'd miss someone calling in an emergency."

Concerned, his brother went to their kitchenette, then brought back a cup of coffee and the extra egg white burrito Laurie'd made for him.

"Here, you eat this, then we'll figure out how to get that gal off your back. What did Linda have to say about her calling?"

"Well, she wasn't exactly happy, seems Anita left a rambling message yesterday, I didn't find out about it until last night. To think I once was crazy about her….." A.J. said wearily, then managed a smile when Rick replied, "Yeah, and your big sis didn't much like that. I remember before she left, she told Mom Anita was no good for you."

"She did?" A.J. was startled.

"Yeah, I don't know why, but well, you know Laurie's instincts are usually right on." Rick frowned. This was something that had bothered him even as a kid, something Anita did really set his girl off.

Just then the phone rang, and Rick immediately picked it up. "Simon and Simon".

Silence, then .."Rick, may I speak to A.J.?"

Anita. Anger swelled in Rick as he tightly responded "Anita, I don't think he or his wife have any business with you, nor do I except to tell you to stop calling him."

"What do you mean, my business with him is that I love him. I want him back." Now the woman's voice was slurring, and Rick was disgusted. "That was 27 years ago, Anita, I suggest you go back to where you came from, don't call here again!"

"Rick?" A.J. motioned at him to give him the phone, and her next words made it evident that was a good idea.

"I don't believe he doesn't want to talk to me-he has to tell me himself and I'll keep calling until I talk to him!"

Rick reluctantly handed his brother the phone.

Clearing his throat, A.J. took the receiver. "Anita, it's A.J.."

He listened for a moment, then firmly told her "No, I don't love you, I love my wife, and I told you to get some help. I'm not responsible for your life or your drinking. If you call or harass me or my wife in any way, I'll call the police, understand?"

Rick could hear crying on the other end, then A.J. hung up.

"That's that, hopefully." The younger Simon sighed.

The rest of the morning passed peacefully enough, then around lunch time the phone rang.

Rick picked it up, "Simon and Simon".

"Rick, it's Ron, do you know a "Anita Cooper?"

He groaned, "Yeah, Ron, she's a gal we used to know in San Diego; did she call you guys?"

"Yes, apparently she's had officers out several times to her hotel on Mission Way. First she says someone is stalking her and you two won't help her, then we had to book her for drunk and disorderly. Now she's called three times in the last hour claiming A.J. is her husband and won't come home." Ron's tone was humorous.

"Oh God, Ron, this Cooper gal is over the bend. She's been harassing A.J. and Linda since this weekend. Seems she blames him and me for everything wrong in her life. We hadn't even seen her in 22 years until we bumped into her in San Diego this weekend." A.J. shook his head then dialed his house.

"Oh great, I bet Linda's been real happy about this. Do you guys want to swear out a restraining order against her, at least they'll have some protection." Ron advised.

"Would you, Ron?" At the look on A.J.'s face, Rick made the decision. "Just a minute, pal."

He put their friend on hold, then glanced at his brother.

"Rick, Anita called the house and claimed we've been having an affair. When Linda told her she was a liar and to leave us alone, she said it was all Laurie and yours fault and that you'd pay." A.J.'s face was worried. "It's being taken care of, A.J., " Rick told him reassuredly. He went back to Ron.

"Ron, can you process that and we'll come sign the papers? Anita called Linda and threatened Laurie and I."

"I'll do it right now, and I'm going to have her picked up for violating her bail. That ought to take care of her for a while." The chief of detectives explained.

"Thanks, Ron, I appreciate. We'll close up right now and be over in a few minutes." Rick ended the call, then looked up over at his silent brother. "A.J., you didn't do anything wrong, so take that expression off your face."

A.J. was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"All those years I used to wonder if I made a mistake in letting her go. Boy, was I wrong, I married the right woman after all."

"You sure did!" Rick asserted, then a glimmer of a smile appeared on A.J.'s face.

"Remind me to bring a lemon pie for dinner on Sunday; you and Laurie have earned it."


	3. Chapter 3

As the two brothers left the office, eyes followed them, then a motor turned and a car prepared to pull out of a secluded parking space. Abruptly it turned its wheels and headed out the back driveway as a green Jeep pulled into the lot. Rick spied its driver. "A.J., you might want to get lunch instead." He teased, and his brother looked to see Laurie wave at the two men.

"Ron called me, guys. I thought I'd go over to your place, A.J. and make lunch for us. "

"Thanks, sis. That's a great idea, only, why don't Rick and I bring some take out. My treat." He added, then snickered as Rick beamed, "Best idea you've had all day."

As they rendezvoused later at the condo complex, the brothers were glad to find no further phone calls had been made to the Simon household. According to Ron, Anita Cooper had been arrested twice in the last six months on disorderly conduct and DUI charges. The last time she had been bailed out by a professional bail bondsman, but apparently had no permanent residence.

"She's unemployed to boot, but somebody must have helped her make bail. I've filed this with the bail bonds place, but she'll be served in a couple of hours also, guys." Their friend promised.

"Thanks, Ron, Laurie's gone to the condo, and I'm sure Anita's just blowing smoke, but still…" Rick glanced at his brother's set face.

"I want my family to be safe." A.J. said finally, then Ron nodded. "Me too, pal. I'll have an extra patrol car go by there tonight, just in case."

Now as the brothers relaxed after dinner, Laurie and Linda cleaned up after dinner, then put the children to bed. As Laurie paused to say good night to Ricky, she caught sight of his open window.

"Ricky, it's too cold to have that open."

"Aw, Auntie Laurie, I like a little fresh air." He grumbled, as she went to shut it.

Suddenly she caught sight of a foreign car at the curb across the street, and hurriedly closed the window.

"Ricky, I'm going to turn out the light now. Stay quiet now, I have to get your dad." She told him.

Rushing out of the room, she found the guys kibitzing over a football game.

"Rick, A.J., there's a strange car in front of the neighbors, Linda says they're out of town. Did Ron send someone over?" she asked calmly.

Rick slowly got up, then looked through the slats of the living room blinds. "No, darlin', that's not one of his. You call Ron then stay put with Linda, A.J. and I will check this out."

As he grabbed his weapon from the gun drawer and A.J. removed the safety catch from his, Laurie dialed up their friend, then after notifying him of the possible threat, came to her husband's side as he waited to slip out of the condo.

"Be careful, love. Ron says not to confront whoever it is without back up. Please." She begged, then he turned and kissed her gently. "We'll be careful, angel, now don't let anyone in but us."

As the two brothers came out of the home, A.J. nudged his brother; a woman's figure was silhouetted in the street light inside the sports car. "Anita", he whispered.

Rick quailed inside, now this was definitely scary. What had happened to make this woman come after A.J. after all these years?

Suddenly the car door opened, then Anita emerged, and Rick quickly "told" his wife, "turn the front light on, Laurie."

As the red-haired woman entered the walkway to the front door, the lights came on, and she froze.

"All right, Anita, that's far enough." Rick warned her in a no-nonsense voice.

He saw her face droop, the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes stark in the bright light.

"Rick, stay out of this. I want to talk to A.J.. You and Laurie have done enough to separate us."

"No, Anita, it was you." A.J. came out of the shadows, then faced her angrily. "You lied, and tried to manipulate me into marrying you. I didn't fall for it then, and I sure don't love you now."

She took a step toward him, then spoke in a pleading tone. "A.J., I'm sorry about all that. You don't know how sorry. I threw away the best thing in my life. Everything I've done since, is crap. I know you think what we had wasn't much, but it was real, I can prove it…"

"Real?" A.J. glared at her, "Harassing my wife and children, threatening my brother and sister, that's what's real."

"Sister, huh! If you mean Laurie, that was your mom's idea, not yours! I know all about her past." Anita spat. Enraged, Rick grabbed his brother's arm. "Come on, A.J., she's done here. You're being served with a restraining order, Anita. Come near any of us again and you'll be in jail in 2 seconds."

A panicked expression filled her eyes. "A.J., please, can we at least talk, I need you, you're the only man I've…"

"That's enough, Anita!" A.J. said tightly, his face red. "I have nothing to say to you, get out of here, now!"

"That's right, Ms. Cooper." Ron's voice carried in the crisp winter air. The glare of car lights broke the night, Reluctantly, the woman turned away from the Simons, then whirled around for one more verbal salvo.

"Listen, A.J., one of these days you'll change your mind, and I'll be waiting." Defiantly she walked away, snatching the court papers from Ron's hand as he politely opened her car door for her.

As she pulled away from the curb and screeched out of the complex, both brothers heaved a sigh of relief and crossed the street to talk to their friend.

Abruptly the sound of a high-powered engine caused Rick to look up, then he saw a van barreling toward them.

"A.J.! " he yelled, then grabbing his brother's arm, tried to jump out of the way.

Screeching tires sounded next to him as he hit the ground, then the noise of shots and voices yelling.

Above the sound he heard two women's voices calling, then he heard a groan next to him. "Rick."

Turning his head and opening his eyes, he saw A.J. awkwardly lying next to him, grimacing in pain.

"A.J.." he found his voice shaking. "Are you all right?"

"My leg, I think it's broken, uhh." A.J. groaned, then looked at his brother. "Rick, if you hadn't…."

"Stay down, A.J.. Just stay down, honey." Linda's voice was next to them, and Rick looked up to see his sister-in-law's concerned face. "Ron called for an ambulance, you're going to be all right. Rick, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just sore." Rick tried to get up, only to find his mother on the other side of him, pushing him back down.

"Mom, where did you come from?" he gasped.

"Laurie called me, son. She's watching over the children. Are you sure you're not hurt?" his mother looked at him with concern.

"I'm fine, Mom. Here's the paramedics now." He responded with relief, seeing the medics coming to his brother's aid.

Within minutes A.J. and Rick were both on gurneys and Ron was yelling over his radio at the units who pursued the hit & run van.

"What do you mean he disappeared?"

"Man, for an old guy you sure have good reflexes."

Rick grinned abashedly at Dr. Allen, who stood with his hands on his hips staring at the older Simon.

"Well, you know, fresh air, clean living,…." He began, only to dodge an elbow from the doctor who'd mended him more then once.

"Good thing I like your wives, guys." He needled, then turned serious as he focused on A.J., his leg encased in a brace.

"A.J., I'm going to keep you overnight just to make sure that leg starts to set, then you can go home. Rick, I want to do the same …" he raised his hand as Rick opened his mouth to protest, "you have a cracked rib and your hip is bruised, I want to make sure you have no internal injuries. Besides, this is an order from Ron and Laurie, and they out-rank you."

A.J. managed a chuckle. "I don't know about Ron, but I wouldn't mess with Laurie, big brother. No, sirree!"

Just then Linda knocked at the door, then seeing Dr. Allens' nod, came in and put her arms around her husband. "A.J., this is my fault, I shouldn't have made such a big thing about that woman. Maybe if I didn't…"

"No, oh no, Linny." A.J. stopped her, then sat up and kissed her. "Honey, this is not your fault. I love you, I don't want anything to do with Anita. She never thought about anyone other then herself and she and her lies drove me away 27 years ago. I want her out of our lives now, she's a danger to us. I won't let anyone hurt you or the children, or ", he glanced at his brother. "The people I love."

Rick had a lump in his throat; what if he hadn't insisted on confronting Anita. Instantly he felt his wife's thoughts toward him, and he wanted to see her so badly.

"Rick, as long as you're feeling better, I'm going home to the children. Laurie won't get any rest until she sees you two are all right." Startled, Rick glanced up at his mother, who had been waiting outside.

"Uh, Mom, how did you do that?"

"Oh, mothers have their ways, besides, I saw the way your face changed just now." Cecilia smiled at him, then gave Rick a hug as he choked, "Mom, I love you. Thank you for being a mind-reader."

"Yeah, me too." A.J. chimed in as Linda wiped her eyes. Cecilia hugged the two of them. "You're welcome, now let me get back to my grandchildren."


	4. Chapter 4

As the morning sun came up, Laurie arrived at the hospital entrance and started into the lobby, only to hear her name called. "Laurie, Laurie Simon?"

Turning, she saw a tall, stocky man coming toward her. "Laurie, it's Roman Baker, do you remember me?"

Gazing up at him, she smiled, "Yes, Roman, I do. You were in the class after me. How are you?"

"Fine, thank you. How is Rick?" Laurie remembered they had run into him at their last reunion, his parents had run the local candy store and now he was the owner.

"Well, he's a little banged up right now, he and A.J. were hit by a van, but they'll be all right."

"That's terrible. At least they're okay." He fell into step with her, then took her arm as they entered the visitors' area.

"Are you visiting someone, Roman?" she asked, realizing how early it was.

"Yes, Anita Cooper, she's been admitted to the care unit here. I got a call from her last night, seems she's gone off the deep end again."

Laurie stared at him in shock. "Roman, Anita's here?"

"Yes, why?" he frowned.

"Because the police are looking for her; she's been harassing A.J. and his family. But you said again…" Laurie stopped, thinking this was something Rick should hear.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't know she was after A.J., but, her family was killed in a car crash last year, and ever since then, well, she hasn't done too well." His voice was sad, and Laurie started to feel sorry for him, coming all this way for Anita.

"Roman, you're a good man. I still remember when we were in school, you bringing peppermints to kids who were sick." She put a hand on his arm.

Just then the elevator dinged, and he escorted her in.

"Thank you, Laurie, it's nice to hear someone have something good to say about you. If I may, I'd like to stop by to see A.J. and Rick later, what floor are they on?"

"Three. I don't know the room number yet, but you can ask at the nurses' station." As the doors opened, Laurie stepped out, then turned to see Roman smile at her. "I will, I'm glad to have run into you again."

As the doors closed, she quickly ran to the waiting area and used the pay phone to call Ron Johnson.

Rick was glancing at his watch impatiently when a soft "Rick?" sounded near the door.

"Sweetheart? Behind the curtain." He replied, then beamed when Laurie stepped around the curtain then came to his side.

Instantly he gathered her in his arms. "Laurie."

"Darling, you scared me. Oh, love." Her voice broke, then he pulled her up on his bed and kissed her.

After a few minutes, he released her, then saw a worried look in her eyes. "Darlin', what is it?"

"I think I know who was behind the van that hit you; I just called Ron, Anita is supposedly in the care unit upstairs." She gulped, her face troubled.

"What?" Rick was dumbfounded, then heard his wife's tale of having run into Roman Baker and his tale of woe about Anita.

"I believed him about Anita until he said her family was killed in a car crash last year. Her father and mother died years ago, right after her brother as a matter of fact. When I talked to Ron, he got ahold of the Care Center administrator and they checked to see if she was there. She was until a few minutes ago, then she walked out. I think Roman picked her up." Laurie explained. "Then," she hesitated, until Rick touched her cheek, "what, Angel?"

"Roman took my arm as we got into the elevator, so I had the nurse put some powder on my blouse so I could lift his prints from my sleeve." She pointed to a set of white marks on her new blouse. "When they find the van, they can see if they match any left by the driver." Laurie held up a small bag with a smudged piece of tape in it.

Rick gazed at his wife proudly. "How did I marry such a smart woman." She put her face next to his as she murmured, "you taught me everything I know, darling. I just listened and put two and two together."

"Well, how about putting," he kissed her, "something else together."

"Please, Rick, Linda and I are trying to sleep." Came A.J.'s voice from behind the curtain, and Laurie muffled her giggle as Linda sleepily added, "Go to sleep, sis, breakfast isn't until 8."

"Good idea." Rick teased, then helped his wife off with her shoes. Covering her with his blankets, he pillowed her head on his chest, then the two of them drifted off to sleep.

Rick woke first to the shocked gasp, "Mr. Simon!" Opening his eyes, he saw the puffed up face of the head nurse, Ms Rachel ("Rachett to you, Rick!" A.J. had said, rolling his eyes the last time he was here.)

"Uh, hi, Nurse. It's okay, this is Mrs. Simon. Laurie." He stroked her cheek, then she woke up.

"Mr. Simon, I realize Dr. Allen lets you run things when he's here, but he's not…" the nurse started to bluster, only for Laurie to interrupt her.

"Nurse, I am his wife, so there's no need to be rude. As soon as Allen comes in to check my husband and his brother out, we're leaving."

Rick saw the fire in her eyes, and as much as he enjoyed seeing her go off on nasty minds like "Rachett", he put a calming arm around her.

"It's all right, sweetheart. Finish waking up then I'll meet you in the family room."

The nurse opened her mouth as if to protest, then thought better of it and left the room in a huff.

From behind his curtain, a grumpy A.J. could be heard telling Linda, "if she had come over here…"

"Morning, A.J." Rick grinned, then Linda parted the curtains, hair tousled.

"Hey, Rick, morning, sis. I loved hearing you talk back to that woman, she's a real… A.J.!"

Laurie giggled as Linda disappeared and the sound of romance filtered back.

"Hmm, not a bad idea." Rick snickered, then "helped" Laurie finish waking up.

As they finished eating breakfast, Linda remembered that she needed to call Cecilia.

"Ricky's got a birthday party to go to today, A.J.. I'll call Mom then meet you in the family room, okay?"

"Sure, honey, Allen wanted to talk to you anyway." A.J. had a puzzled look, then Laurie told Rick, "I'll wait with Linda, darling. I'm going to stop and call Ron first."

"All right. Sweetheart. We'll be in soon." Rick pulled her down for one more kiss.

Laurie had a sudden chill come over her, so she wrapped her arms around him. "Darlin'?" Rick felt her shiver, then she reluctantly released him.

"Don't mind me, just cold, must be the air conditioning." She smiled, then followed her sister-in-law out of the room.

As the women left, Rick saw A.J. frown. "What's wrong, A.J.? Is it your leg?"

"No, just had a funny feeling about Anita supposedly being here, then gone." He said thoughtfully.

Rick leaned back, his own disquiet about his wife bothering him. "I know, I don't like that Roman Baker just happens to show up and offer so much info to Laurie."

The brothers were silent for a minute, then a familiar figure came in the room. "What the heck happened to you two?"

"Rudy!" Rick was pleased to see their friend. "When did you get into town?"

"About an hour ago. Steve and Jaime and Crystal went on to the cabin with Oscar." Rudy gave first him then A.J. a hug.

"Am I glad to see you." A.J. grinned.

"Well, Laurie was anxious about you guys, and Oscar was worried she wouldn't rest until you were home, so we wrapped up our business and came home early." Rudy explained.

Abruptly Rick "heard" a cry of "Rick", then a feeling of panic from his wife.

Laurie had been on hold with Ron Johnson, only to hear her name called from the family room down the hall. Putting the phone down, Laurie went to the door, only to find the lights out.

"Linda?" she called her sister-in-law's name as she entered, only to hear a muffled "Laurie!" then someone grab her from behind and hold a cloth over her nose and mouth.

"A.J., something's wrong, which way's the family room from here?" Rick pushed himself off the bed then tried to bend over for his shoes.

"Hey, hey, let me do that." Rudy stopped him, then got him his shoes and helped him up. A.J. grabbed for his crutches and the three men left the room.

A siren was going off as they came down the corridor, then Rick paled as he saw the darkened waiting room with the door shut. Putting his hand on the knob, he found it was locked, then looked through the window to see someone lying on the floor.

"Rudy, the door's locked,. one of them's in there!"


	5. Chapter 5

"I've got it!" Dr. Allen came running from his offices, then unlocked the door and thrust it open in one motion. Rick was right on his heels, then as the lights came on, gasped to see his wife on the floor, partially covered with a blanket. A piece of paper was next to her.

Whipping the covering off of her, Rick heard a small groan from his wife. "Laurie, darlin'. Wake up, angel." He dropped to his knees, ignoring his painful ribs, then stroked her face. She started to move her hand to her face, then Rick took it and held it gently in his hand.

Rudy knelt next to her, carefully checking for injuries. "Missy, it's all right, you're safe. Rick, look." He held up a dampened cloth.

"God, no." A.J. panicked. "Someone took Linny and knocked Laurie out?"

At the sound of their voices, Laurie's eyes opened, then a whimper, "Rick? Linda, where's ….oh, no."

"Shh, it's all right." Rick bent over and picked her up, then managed to put her down on the sofa. Holding her, he rubbed her wrists as Rudy went to get some water.

"Rick, someone grabbed me, he was so big, I couldn't breathe, darling." She gasped, then calmed down as Rick kissed her face.

"My brave girl, it's all right, we'll find her. Just rest."

"Rick, did you see this?" Allen held out the paper that was next to her.

"Next time it's her."

"Oh, sweetheart." Rick tightened his embrace, then saw tears in Laurie's eyes.

"Rick, we've got to find her, the man who attacked me, I heard Linda cry out, then, he said, it was awful, I feel so sick." She choked.

"What did he say, love. It's okay." Rick tried to soothe her, then he saw his wife take a deep breath.

"He said "unless Anita gets what she wants, you'll never see your friend again. You're next." Then there was a noise, and he dropped me. There was something about him,…so familiar."

A.J. swore, then put an arm around his 'big sister" as she tried to sit up. "Whoa, honey, stay put for a moment, let Rudy look at you."

"I'm okay, but I feel sick, oh, Rudy, where did you come from." She replied dazedly, as their friend gave her some ginger ale to ease her stomach.

Within a few minutes Ron Johnson came to the waiting room to say that surveillance cameras had picked up a hooded man pushing a "patient" in a wheelchair into the parking garage. Fortunately a license plate was recorded, but it was a rental.

"I've got an APB out on this van, we'll find her, A.J.. Laurie, I want Rick to take you home, this guy is not making you his next target!" Ron told her, then saw her shake her head.

"I feel much better, thank you, Ron. I can help look for Linda, if I could just remember what it was, so …oh, I remember, peppermint, he smelled of peppermint."

Ron and Rudy started to protest, then Rick interrupted them.

"Guys, we can keep a better eye on Laurie if she's with us. A.J., we'll need to have you wired so in case Anita contacts you, we can track her whereabouts. I may be crazy, but I don't think she's the brains behind this."

Just then a page sounded for "Laurie Simon", and Dr. Allen looked puzzled.

"Laurie, how many people know you're here?"

"Not many, Allen, just Mom and the children and….wait a minute, let me take it in here." She answered. Quickly Allen arranged the transfer, then Rick made her comfortable as he plugged in a speaker attachment to the phone so the others could listen and not be heard.

Laurie picked up the receiver. "This is Mrs. Simon."

"Laurie, hi. It's Roman. Listen, can you talk?" The man sounded nervous.

"Yes, I'm waiting for the doctor, something awful happened!" she matched his tone

"I'm sorry, honey, look, I think Anita may have done a very bad thing, can you meet me at the corner coffee shop over by the hotel on Phoenix Way?" Rick cringed. He didn't like the words "very bad".

Laurie looked at the others, then A.J. mouthed "ask if' it's about Linda."

"Is this about my sister-in-law? Is she with Anita?"

"I don't know, but she might know where she is. Can you meet me?" the tone hardened, and Rudy shook his head vehemently.

"Yes, I can be there in about 20 minutes. I can take a cab there." She replied.

"Good, I'll see you then. Thanks." Click.

Allen and Rudy immediately started protesting. "Missy, there is no way you should go there, he wants to eliminate you as a witness!" the older man told her, then Dr. Allen added, "Rick, she's not to go, it's a trap like Rudy says."

A.J. looked at both men, then reluctantly agreed. "Honey, they're right. It's too dangerous, Rick and I will go."

Laurie glanced at her husband, then spoke, gazing at her friends.

"I love you guys, but this is the only way to find Linda, alive. It's Roman all right, he always smelled of homemade peppermint from his father's candy story. Don't worry, I said I'm coming in a cab, so Rick and Ron can follow me. A.J., " she put her hand on his, "I promise this will work. If it gets too hairy I'll make an excuse and go to the bathroom and the three of you can take it from there."

Rick looked at the determination in her eyes, then put his arms around her. "She's right, A.J., this is our only chance. You promise me, sweetheart." He moved his hands to her shoulders. "if he says anything that leads us to believe he's on to you, you'll head for the back door, capice?"

She nodded, then hugged him tightly. "Capice."

Less then 15 minutes later, Laurie stood at the curb, waiting for a cab. When one pulled up, she was surprised to see their friend "Downtown" Brown driving, wearing a non-descript hat.

"Corner of Phoenix Way and Biltmore, please." She said, climbing in.

"Sure, lady." Towne grunted, then pulled away from the hospital.

"Towne, I'm glad to see you, but where did you come from?" she wondered.

"Rick called me when that Anita first surfaced, I was worried when Ron told me what happened to the guys. You're sure you know what you're doing?" he asked, seeing her anxious look.

"Yes, but I'm scared, Towne. Anita could do anything to Linda. I just hope we're right about her and Roman." Laurie replied, relieved to be honest with Towne.

"Honey, just leave your transmitter on, we'll be right there if he tries anything." He reassured her.

Just then they pulled up in front of the Corner coffee shop, where, not surprising, Roman Baker was standing outside waiting for her. As Towne started to get out of the cab to help her out, her former schoolmate strode forward and opened her door.

"Oh, thank you." She mustered a smile then turned back to Towne. "Thanks, driver, keep the change." She said, handing him a ten.

"Ma'am." He nodded, then saw the disdainful look the man gave him. "What a creep." Towne growled as he drove down the block, then pulled over.

"Rick, can you read me?" he spoke into his transmitter.

"Loud and clear, he was right there, huh." Rick's tone was disgusted.

"Yeah, he was eyeing Laurie too, I really don't like this." The former detective didn't hide his concern.

"Well, she's not going to be in there long, A.J. and I are going to be in the alley, can you take the driveway?" Rick was busy listening to Baker ordering lunch.

"Sure, he won't get past me. Be careful, pal." Towne warned.

Rick clicked off, then froze as he saw a grey van matching the description of the one that hit him and A.J.. It was parked in a blind spot by the back door of the restaurant, and he could see two figures inside.

"A.J., look."

His younger brother stared at it, then made as if to unbuckle his seat belt.

"No you don't." Rick firmly told him, then set his jaw as A.J. retorted, "I have to, I don't want them to hurt her. They'll let her go if I just talk to Anita."

"She might, but Roman won't. There's something bigger here at stake, A.J.. Oh, oh…." Rick heard Roman start telling Laurie about Anita.

"Anita just wants A.J. to talk to her, that's all. I'm sure if he agrees to meet with her, she'll tell him where his wife is." Roman sounded so reasonable, then his next words sent a chill through Rick.

"Of course she wants an apology from you and Rick, but I'm sure you've never been anything but nice to her. It's Rick who's made her so angry. He's not the man for you, honey. He'd never notice the little things about you, like how sweet you are. You need someone like me."

"Roman, that's very nice, but you're wrong about Rick, he's a good man. Why, he's the one who helped A.J. find out who killed Anita's brother. It's sad of course, that her parents never…oh!" Rick heard Laurie catch herself, then saw from the look on A.J.'s face he realized Laurie had made a slip.

"What about the Coopers?" Rick heard an edge in the store owner's voice.

"That her parents never could handle Anita and A.J. dating, but of course Mom couldn't do anything about it." Laurie covered her slipup, then made a slight moan.

"Oh no!" Rick blanched, then recovered when Roman asked "is something wrong?"

"My filling, of all the luck, Roman would you excuse me, I need to see if my filling is broken."

There was the scraping of a chair, then Roman's murmured, "of course."

Rick waited until she was in the bathroom, then "called", "Laurie, go out the back way, now."

His transmitter flicked on, then she whispered, "Darling, I'm sorry, I blew it, didn't I."

Her husband just shook his head, "No, angel, you covered it okay, I just don't trust him. Go now, sweetheart."

"I'll be right out." Laurie listened at the door, then opening it slightly, slipped out and turned toward the rear entrance.

Suddenly a strong arm grabbed her, pinning her arms against her body..

Struggling in vain, Laurie managed to turn, then saw the smiling face of Roman Baker .

"Roman, what are you doing, I told you…." Laurie saw the threatening glint in his eyes as he put a hand over her mouth.

"Not another word, Laurie. I'm afraid your filling's going to have to wait." He quietly warned her, then added, "I'm going to take my hand off your mouth now, but any screaming or calling for help and I'll shoot anyone in my way, understand?"

She nodded, then "heard" Rick tell her "just go with him, sweetheart, I'm coming, I won't let him take you away, darlin'."

Roman pulled his hand away from her face, then grabbed her by the arm and pushed her in front of him down the hall to the rear exit. Laurie felt the muzzle of a gun in her back, and "told" her husband, "He has a gun, Rick, he's forcing me out of the restaurant."

"It's all right, Laurie, when I tell you to drop, drop." Rick ordered her, as he came around the corner of the parking lot and stopped.

"A.J., you wait here, Towne's on the other side, You can see the van from here." He killed the motor then saw A.J.'s anxious face.

"Rick, please be careful, Anita's crazy…."

"I won't let them hurt her, I promise. There's Roman now." He paused, seeing his wife being pushed toward the delivery van.

Rick slid out of the truck, then darted from car to car until he was beside the vehicle.

Suddenly the side door opened, then he saw Linda, tied up, with a smirking Anita holding a gun on her.

"Here comes that friend of yours, I'm going to enjoy watching Roman taking care of her." He heard the disturbed woman grate. Linda started to protest, then Rick saw Anita turn as if to strike her.

"Drop, Laurie!" he "called" as Baker approached with Laurie. Instantly she let herself fall, only to be surprised when Roman yanked her up by her arm. "No you don't, Laurie, no tricks. Rick, wherever you are, throw out your weapon and come out or they're both dead."

Frantic, Rick came out from behind the adjacent car. "No, don't hurt them, Roman, they've haven't done anything to you. It's me you're after, take it out on me." He held up his gun, then saw the look of indecision in the man's eyes.

"Please Roman, let us go. If you cared about me, you wouldn't want to hurt me, and it would kill me to have you hurt either Rick or Linda just to get back at me." Laurie pleaded, gazing into his eyes.

For a moment he froze, then Anita's voice sounded. "No, it's all your fault, you caused all this, shoot them both, Roman!" The man wavered a moment, then Laurie looked at the woman. "Anita, if you loved A.J. so much, why did Roman try to kill him and Rick? You'll never get A.J. to talk to you now!"

"Wait a minute, you said you just tried to get Rick, how could you, Baker? I trusted you!" Anita let the gun drop as she furiously glared at her accomplice.

The hard look came into his eyes. "As long as the Simons' are alive, neither of us will be happy." In desperation Laurie wrenched herself free, as Rick shot the gun from Roman's grasp then knocked him to the pavement. Suddenly Linda used her bound hands to push Anita out of the van, then Laurie turned and punched Anita in the face.

"No, you'll ruin everything!" the hysterical woman cried, then Laurie had a sudden flash of memory, as she stared at Anita, now collapsed sobbing on the ground.

Rick finished subduing Roman, then turned to see Anita on the pavement.

Surprised, he glanced up and saw Laurie untying Linda and helping her out of the van. "Sis, you were great. She didn't hurt you, did she?" Laurie asked, then hugged her when Linda shook her head. "No, she slapped me when she tied me up, but, I was more afraid of what she was going to do to you."

Rick saw Towne covering both Roman and Anita, then he put an arm around his sister-in-law as he glanced at Laurie. "Uh, sweetheart, did you….?"

She looked over at him, then nodded, her rage fading. "Yes, Rick, I slugged her. I was so angry at what she did to A.J. and Linda…."

"Linny!"

All four of them raised their heads, then Linda let go of Rick and started running toward A.J., who had managed to climb out of the truck and was balancing himself against it.

"A.J.!" she cried, then she was weeping in his embrace.

Rick let out a sigh, then turned and pulled Laurie into his arms. "Darlin', I'm proud of you."

"Oh, love." She rested her face against his chest, as he stroked her hair, saying, "I know he scared you, darlin', but I wouldn't have let him hurt you. I just needed to get him to meet up with Anita."

"Darling, I was more frightened for Linda then for me, but you could have told me why you wanted me to go with him. I wouldn't have let on, you know that." Laurie gazed at him, then finally gave him a smile as he fumbled, "I'm sorry, Laurie. I should have, only I didn't want you to try anything on your own."

"My funny love, don't you know, Rick, when you speak, " she kissed him, "I obey."

"You do, huh?" Rick answered her archly, then passionately kissed her, only releasing her lips at the clearing of a throat.

"Uh, Rick, Laurie, you might want to wait until you get to the station to finish that." Towne smirked, pointedly looking at Laurie's right hand. Rick winced as he saw it starting to swell. "Sweetheart…."

She took a sharp breath, "I didn't even feel it, but." She put her face against Rick's wearily, "It hurts, Rick."

"Then I'll have to kiss it to make it better, darlin'" he soothed, as some of Johnson's men came to take their assailants away.

Towne hugged her, then said, "I'll call Ron so he'll know you're on your way." then added, "besides, A.J. and Linda already have a head start on you in "making it better" department!"

Rick laughed as Laurie blushed. "Can't have my little brother beat me at that!"

Taking Laurie's arm, he led her to his truck where A.J. and Linda were still holding on to each other and helped them climb into the back of the cab, then lifted his wife into the front seat.

"Well, partner, we'll pick up where we left off after we see Ron, capice?" he kissed her then climbed in.

She nodded and snuggled next him. "Capice!"


	6. Epilogue

"A baby!" Rick was surprised, then seeing his brother's pleased expression, engulfed his younger brother with a hug. "A.J., you rascal, congratulations! What a early Christmas present! Is Linda all right?"

"Yes, that's what Dr. Allen wanted to see her about, of course she's going to have to be careful for a couple of months." A.J. suddenly had a worried expression, then Rick reassured him, "She's going to be all right, A.J., don't worry. Besides, you two have all of us to look after you."

Seeing the relieved look on A.J.'s face, Rick was grateful that Linda's attackers would be in jail for a long time. With Anita Cooper sent to jail for at least ten years and Roman Baker for twenty, the Simon family was assured of their safety for a long time.

"I know, speaking of looking after, I still wish I knew how Laurie knew Anita was bad news all these years. To think that being laid off of her job sent her after me…." ." A.J. shook his head, "At least we know why they linked up. She was after me, and Roman wanted Laurie" Rick frowned at that as A.J. added, "I 'd have given almost anything to see my sis hit Anita. Linda says Laurie was great, she hit her flush in the face. By the way, how's her hand?"

Rick sighed, "She has a broken bone in the middle of her hand, so she's in a cast. At least it wasn't her wrist. You hit on something, though. She's been upset about hitting Anita since we left the hospital, say, how old were you when you and Anita started going together?"

"Almost thirteen, it was just before Laurie was taken away. Isn't that when Mom told me no going steady with Anita?" The younger Simon remembered, looking at the picture of himself and Rick at that age on his desk.

"Yeah, Mom thought she was kind of wild. She was happy when you two broke up your freshman year. She tried to get me to warn you off…" Rick abruptly remembered what happened when he told Laurie about Anita going after A.J..

"That's it, I'm going to call Mom." Rick went to his desk, then picked up the phone.

An hour later, Laurie was sitting, deep in thought when she "heard" Rick call to her.

"Sweetheart, I'm almost home. Is your Dad there?"

She smiled, "He just went to take hiscatch to the cabin, I can hardly wait to see you, love."

Immediately she went to the back door and called to Mike and Rex. "Daddy's coming."

At once a small black streak raced in the door, then Mike followed, wagging happily as he climbed the steps.

As Rick pulled into the drive, he saw his wife standing at the door. She was pleasantly surprised to see Cecilia with him. "Mom, I didn't know Rick was bringing you!" she beamed, as Rick loitered behind and reached into the front seat to pull out a box. Hugging her mother-in-law, Laurie glanced at her husband, who gave her a wink. As she released Cecilia, Rick came up the walk then embraced her.

"Rick, you are so bad, I missed you, darling. I'm so glad you guys are closing tomorrow." She told him, then kissed him hungrily.

"I've got a couple of surprises for you, Laurie. But first, we need to talk. Let's go inside." He said, putting an arm around her.

Puzzled, she went inside where Cecilia had already commandeered the sofa. Rick made himself comfortable next to her, then pulled Laurie down between them, "Now, this is more like it." He told her, and she relaxed against him. "Hmmm, yes, Rick."

"Sweetheart, I know you've been upset about something, and I didn't know what it was ." he explained after a minute, then Cecilia gently added, "Honey, I think it's time you told us about what's bothering you. It'ssomething that happened a long time ago, isn't it?"

Emotionally, Laurie started, "Oh, Mom, I didn't know what to do, all of a sudden it came back to me, but…" Rick interrupted her.

"Laurie, you did nothing wrong, you couldn't have stopped Anita from getting involved A.J. if you'd tried. Just like you couldn't have prevented all the stuff we just went through."

Her eyes opened wide as he continued. "I know you found out she was fooling around with a high school guy, Mom knew all about it. What I didn't know was that Anita threatened to go to your step-parents about Mom reporting them to Social Services, if you told any of us."

Tears filled Laurie's eyes as Cecilia said, "And what you didn't know, was that I heard her say that to you. Why do you think I made A.J. break up with her until he was almost sixteen?"

"You mean, oh Mom, I was so torn." She choked. "I was afraid you'd be hurt, Mom. After Uncle Jack's dying and everything, I didn't want to be responsible for you getting hassled by those two. I completely forgot about it until I hit Anita, then it was like a flashback."

"Darlin', you wanted to protect Mom, and I love you so much for that. What you buried deep in your memories all this time, it gave you the power to protect Linda from what Roman and Anita would have done to them and us." Rick explained, then comforted her as she buried her face in his shirt. Cecilia stroked her hair gently, "Honey, thank you for caring so very much." Rick felt her stop shaking, then she raised her face to look at them both..

"I love you, Mom, all my good childhood memories are because of you and Rick and A.J.." She sniffed, then giggled weakly as Rick kissed the tears off her cheeks. "No more bad memories for you, angel. It's Christmas, and I want my girl to have a very happy time." He promised.

"I will, just as long as my family is with me." Laurie replied, leaning over and kissing her mother-in-law's cheek, then snuggling into his embrace.

"Speaking of Santa, I almost forgot." Rick sat up, as his mother told him, "go on, I'm going to make some tea." Rick took his wife's hand, then led her into their room where he opened his mystery box.

Inside were two red outfits, and Laurie gasped when he held up a red velour dress, trimmed with white ermine and with a fur-lined muff to match.

"Rick, oh, dearest!" she cried, touching the soft material. She dropped the costume on the bed then threw her arms around his neck. "I love it, it's so beautiful. Where did you find it?"

"At the mall, I couldn't resist it, princess." Rick kissed her, then whirled her around as she kissed him back.

Setting Laurie down, he then picked up the matching Santa outfit and pretended to model it for her, breaking her up.

"My Santa will be so handsome in his new suit." She exclaimed, then the gate buzzer rang.

As they went into the living room, Mike and Rex started barking. Cecilia laughed. "Tattletales, I just gave them a cookie each, now what?", then Rick saw his son and daughter-in-law getting out of their car, Andy running ahead of them as Ramona carried a sleeping Lala.

"Rick, did you know Robbie and Ramona were coming?" Laurie asked, going to the door. Rick just winked, then laughed as Ian and Robin parked right next to his truck.

"Surprise, Mom!" Robbie hugged Laurie as she welcomed him in, then she squealed with delight as she caught sight of the others. Cecilia was equally as overjoyed. "I love this kind of surprise, honey." She embraced each of them, then cooed over Petey as he gave her a big smile.

"Oh, Mom, I have to have a picture of him with Grandma!" Robin said with glee, then pulled out her new camera and tripod.

Pleased, Cecilia and Laurie posed with Petey, then Andy and Lala, then the five of them. Suddenly it came to Laurie why Rick had brought the Santa outfits.

"Darling?" she looked at him, then saw him snicker.

"I told you I had a couple of surprises. I thought we might take a family picture to give to Mom for Christmas." He whispered.

"Rick, that's a wonderful idea. You are so smart!" she kissed his cheek, then Robbie laughed.

"Well, Robin thought of it too, Mom."

"Well, then my baby is smart too!" she chuckled, hugging her daughter.

As they waited for Robin to adjust her camera, Ian and Robbie started teasing her, then Andy kept asking when Grandpa and Grandma would be ready.

"Okay, picture time!"

Robin turned around first, then gasped. "Oh, Mom! Pop, how cute!"

The other children looked, then Andy jumped up and down with joy. "Look at Grandma, she looks like Mrs. Santa!"

Shyly, Laurie came out in her red velour dress, holding Rick's hand as he asked his grandson, "Do I look like a Santa's helper?" The little boy nodded happily.

"Pop, that's perfect!" Robbie said. "I couldn't agree more." Oscar spoke from the kitchen doorway.

As everyone gathered around him for hugs, Robin adjusted her camera so she could be in the picture, then beckoned, "Uncle Oscar, come on, you're just in time for family pictures."

As they stood together, Laurie put her head against Rick's chest, whispering, "Thank you for this, love, now I'm ready for the holidays."

"Just wait, Angel." He dropped a kiss on her hair, then a buzz at the door started Mike and Rex barking.

"Rick, is this another surprise?" Laurie giggled. "It's on me, darlin'!" Rick responded, then opened the door to A.J. and Linda and Rudy, with an excited trio of children.

"Sorry we're late, can you handle another surprise?" A.J. snickered, then Laurie rushed over and hugged all of them. "I just got off duty, I must look a mess." Rudy fussed, then Linda put an arm around him.

"Never mind, this makes it just right, Mom will love it!"

"Mom will love what?" Cecilia stood in the doorway, and Rick cleared his throat.

"Never mind, Mom. Now we can talk about surprises…."

"Well, …" A.J. smiled at Linda, then said, "do you want to..?"

"Want to what?", Laurie looked blankly at her brother and sister-in-law, then gasped as Robin pointed at his mother's stomach.

"Baby!" he blurted. Cecilia picked him up and hugged him. "What a smart boy!"

"Linda! Oh, honey!" Laurie went and embraced her, then A.J.. "I'm so happy for you! You wanted another little one!"

"We did, I just never thought we could. This means I'll need you to coach me again." Linda spoke through tears, then Rick pulled out a handkerchief. Linda dabbed her eyes, then handed it to Laurie, who handed it to Cecilia.

"What is it with Simon women, never a Kleenex between them!" he pretended to grouse as he found another one and handed it to his daughter. Oscar shook his head, then Cecilia poked him, "Don't encourage him, "Dad"."

"All the better, we can cry on our men, then!" Laurie joked, then kissed Rick as he pulled her into his arms. "Then remind me to hide my handkerchiefs." He teased.

As they posed, Robin looked through her lens at her family, then felt a great burst of happiness at seeing everyone together.

"Okay, say "Christmas!"

"Christmas!" Andy bellowed, then as his mother and father laughed, Robin knew she had already received her Christmas gift.

The only thing she wanted for Christmas was right in front of her. Their family.


End file.
